Husain Mirza

This painting from the Akbarnama (Book of Akbar) was designed by the Mughal court artist Miskina with details painted by Banwali Khord. It illustrates a battle between the Mughals and Muhammad Husain Mirza near Ahmadabad in north-west India in 1573, during the long and ultimately successful Mughal campaign to conquer the territory of Gujarat. Those bearing the title Mirza were, like the Mughal royal family, descended from Timur, the Central Asian ruler who had briefly conquered Hindustan, as the northern regions of South Asia were known, in 1398. As a result, Hindustan was later seen as a legitimate target for conquest by members of the different branches of the family. During the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) battles between Mughal forces and various Mirzas frequently took place as each tried to seize control of a particular region.

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The title Mirza is a contraction of the Persian ‘Amirzadeh’, meaning ‘born of the amir’ (that is, Timur). Here, Muhammad Husain Mirza had taken advantage of Akbar’s departure from Gujarat to try to seize the region, and Mughal forces had been despatched to prevent this.

The Akbarnama was commissioned by the Mughal emperor Akbar (r.1556–1605) as the official chronicle of his reign. It was written in Persian by his court historian and biographer, Abu’l Fazl, between 1590 and 1596, and the V&A’s partial copy of the manuscript is thought to have been illustrated between about 1592 and 1595.